Ryan Griffin (TE)

The Jets want Ryan Griffin to stay around. New York has exercised their 2021 option on the tight end, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Originally a sixth-round pick of the Texans in 2013, Griffin spent his first six years in Houston. He showed some flashes and had 442 yards in 2016, which earned him a three-year extension the following year. He played a little bit smaller role the next two seasons and was released in May of last year not long after he was arrested for punching a hotel window. The Jets scooped him up last summer, and he turned into a pleasant surprise for the team.

He ended up starting all 13 games that he appeared in for Gang Green, catching 34 passes for 320 yards and five touchdowns. The Jets were impressed enough to give him a three-year, $10.8MM extension in November of last year, which included this option year. Overall, he’s under team control through 2022. He’ll try to fend off third-year player Chris Herndon for the starting job in training camp.

Patriots QB Tom Bradywill play against the Cowboys this afternoon, but as Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link) notes, the team will need to closely monitor Brady’s elbow moving forward. Brady was unable to finish practice on Friday due to elbow pain, and while he was able to take all necessary reps on Saturday, he will continue to get work on the elbow as the season goes on.

Now for more from the AFC East:

It’s not unusual for teams to distance themselves from certain prospects in the pre-draft process in order to hide their interest in those prospects, and that’s exactly what the Patriots did with punter Jake Bailey, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. New England neither interviewed nor held a workout with Bailey, but it traded up in the fifth round of this year’s draft to select him. That move paid off, as the rookie specialist has two AFC Special Teams Player of the Week nods and is currently a favorite for the Pro Bowl.

Rich Cimini of ESPN.com expects the Jets to make a concerted effort to re-sign linebacker Jordan Jenkinsthis offseason. Jenkins, who will be eligible for unrestricted free agency for the first time, has steadily improved during his first four years in the league, and despite missing two games this season with a calf injury, he has posted five sacks, just two shy of his career-high of seven (which he set last year). Jenkins will likely command a contract paying him over $10MM per year.

Bills fans have been less than impressed with the performances of front-seven defenders Star Lotuleleiand Trent Murphy, but Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic says (via Twitter) that Lotulelei will definitely be back with the team next year (the Bills could save $10.1MM against the 2020 cap by cutting Lotulelei after the season, but they would also take on a $7.8MM dead cap charge). Murphy’s status is a bit tougher to predict, but if the Bills move on from Shaq Lawson, Murphy is likely to be back for the final year of his contract.

While Gang Green has failed to meet their expectations entering the season, Griffin has been one of the team’s bright spots. Griffin is far from an elite player at his position, but represents a solid rotational piece.

Originally drafted by the Texans in the 6th round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Griffin spent the first six years of his career in Houston averaging six starts a year and accumulating 1491 receiving yards, 136 receptions, and 7 receiving touchdowns. Griffin receive consistent playing time, but generally only after an injury.

Griffin signed a one-year, $1.125 MM contract this offseason with the Jets that included no base salary guarantees. Since joining the team, he quickly moved to the top of the depth chart and has started every game of the season. Griffin has caught a career-high four touchdown passes and has grabbed a total of 25 receptions for 269 yards.

Following an arrest on charges of misdemeanor vandalism and public intoxication, the Texans released Griffin in May. The charges were later dismissed. Griffin, 29, will now have a chance to make an impact with a second franchise.

Griffin’s functioned as a part-time starter throughout his career, earning that distinction 36 times since debuting in 2013 after being a sixth-round Texans pick. He started a career-high 11 games for the 2018 Texans and, with Herndon set to be shelved on a four-game suspension, stands to have a decent chance at working with Jets first-stringers in September.

Another day, another Gerald McCoy update. The biggest name left available has been taking his time, taking several visits, but it sounds like he could be nearing a decision. So far, the veteran defensive tackle has visited the Browns, Ravens, and Panthers. Although McCoy left Cleveland without a contract, a source tells Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the Browns are still very “much in the running” for McCoy’s services (Twitter link).

What suggests he should be signing imminently is that Kay Cabot also writes that he wants to attend his new team’s voluntary minicamp. As she points out, the Browns’ camp starts June 4th, which is in just a few days. To that end, she writes that McCoy could sign on Monday or Tuesday. It sounds like we’ll still be on McCoy-watch this weekend.

Here’s more from around the league:

Richie Incognito has become more well known for things not related to football than for what he’s done on the field. The Raiders raised a lot of eyebrows when they signed the veteran guard to a deal earlier this week. Incognito spent the entire 2018 season out of football before retiring and then quickly reversing his decision. His retirement came at a tumultuous time for him, and a source told Josh Dubow of the Associated Press that “security was stepped up at the Bills headquarters around the time Incognito announced his retirement,” and that “security personnel were placed on alert if Incognito arrived.” Clearly Buffalo was concerned about him, which isn’t too shocking. Raiders GM Mike Mayock recently said while defending the signing, that “at the end of the day, you can’t have all Boy Scouts.” Speaking of Incognito, he’s had some run-ins with the law that were heavily publicized, but one slipped under the radar. According to documents obtained by ESPN, Incognito plead guilty to “charges of criminal damage and disorderly conduct,” last month, stemming from an August argument at his grandmother’s house. Incognito reportedly blamed his grandmother for his father’s death, which had happened just prior to the argument.

The Packers’ 90-man roster just got trimmed by one. Tight end Davis Koppenhaver, an undrafted rookie from Duke, “has decided to step away from the game and pursue a career outside of football,” a source told Michael Cohen of The Athletic (Twitter link). Koppenhaver never topped 157 yards during his time at Duke, so this isn’t too big of a loss for Green Bay.

Charges against former Texans tight end Ryan Griffin were dismissed earlier today, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Griffin was arrested last month at the NFL Draft in Nashville, and charged with misdemeanor vandalism and public intoxication. A few weeks later, Houston released him. The 2013 sixth-round pick has spent his entire six-year career with the Texans, and has never played a huge role on offense. After a relatively strong 2016 season where he had 442 yards and two touchdowns, the Texan gave him a three-year, $9MM deal. The charges against him never seemed too serious, and he should resurface soon.

The Texans have released tight end Ryan Griffin, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Griffin was arrested last month in Nashville after allegedly punching a hotel window.

The incident occurred near the site of the NFL Draft and made headlines for the Texans at an inopportune time. Hotel security reported Griffin to police, and the tight end was subsequently arrested and charged with vandalism and public intoxication. The player was also reportedly bleeding from his left hand, although the extent of the injury is not clear. Instead of writing Griffin a citation, police decided to arrest the player “for his own safety.” The tight end was ultimately released from jail after paying his bond.

The 2013 sixth-round pick has spent his entire six-year career with the Texans, serving in mostly a backup role. His best season came in 2016, when he hauled in a career-high 50 passes. Griffin started a career-high 11 games (in 14 appearance) in 2018, compiling 24 receptions for 305 yards. Pro Football Focus wasn’t particularly fond of his performance last season, ranking him 56th among 70 eligible tight ends.

After selecting San Diego State tight end Kahale Warring in the third round and adding free agent DarrenFells this offseason, the Texans had little reason to keep Griffin. By releasing him, the Texans have brought an early end to the three-year, $9MM extension ($3.22MM guaranteed) he inked back in 2017.

Police say the 29-year-old punched a window at a hotel (which, notably, was located near the NFL Draft). Hotel security reported Griffin to police, and the tight end was subsequently arrested and charged with vandalism and public intoxication. The player was also reportedly bleeding from his left hand, although the extent of the injury is not clear. Instead of writing Griffin a citation, police decided to arrest the player “for his own safety.” The tight end was ultimately released from jail after paying his bond.

The 2013 sixth-round pick has spent his entire six-year career with the Texans, serving in mostly a backup role. His best season came in 2016, when he hauled in a career-high 50 passes. Griffin started a career-high 11 games (in 14 appearance) in 2018, compiling 24 receptions for 305 yards. ProFootballFocus wasn’t particularly fond of his performance last season, ranking him 56th among 70 eligible tight ends.

His underwhelming advanced metrics could (partly) explain why the Texans ended up selecting San Diego State tight end Kahale Warring in the third round last night. The team also added free agent DarrenFells this offseason, so there’s no guarantee that Griffin makes it to the regular season with his current squad. Griffin signed a three-year, $9MM extension ($3.22MM guaranteed) with the Texans back in 2017.

The Texans swapped out tight ends on their 53-man roster on Friday, activating C.J. Fiedorowicz from IR and moving Ryan Griffin to the injured list, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

Fiedorowicz suffered a concussion to induce an IR stay in Week 1 but will return Sunday, and James Palmer of NFL.com tweets the Texans expect him to play a key role.

Griffin was in concussion protocol this week, being ruled out for Sunday’s Rams game, and the head injury will likely end his season. Re-signed this offseason, Griffin caught 13 passes for 158 yards this season. He played in seven of the Texans’ eight games. Griffin sustained two concussions this season, one that’s been incredibly problematic for Texans tight ends.

Fiedorowicz also suffered two concussions this season, one coming during preseason play. So his return bears monitoring.

Griffin’s shutdown will leave Fiedorowicz and Stephen Anderson as the only tight ends on the active roster. Fiedorowicz finished with 559 receiving yards and tied for the team high with four touchdowns last season.

Ryan Griffin reached an agreement to re-sign with the Texans, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. This will be a three-year deal for the fifth-year tight end. He was scheduled to visit the Lions on Monday, Berman reports. The pact will be worth just more than $9MM, with $3.2MM guaranteed, per Berman (Twitterlinks).

Darren Fells‘ signing with the Lions earlier today may have played into the 27-year-old pass-catcher’s decision-making process.

“This process is absolutely wild. It’s crazy. A whole bunch of stuff happened,” Griffin said, via Berman. “The Lions signed Fells. The pieces fell into place for me to come back. The money was right.”

Griffin emerged as a key Houston pass-catcher during his fourth season, hauling in 50 passes for 442 yards and two touchdowns. Houston will again deploy the tandem of Griffin and C.J. Fiedorowicz in 2017, with the latter entering a contract year. A former sixth-round pick, Griffin nearly doubled his previous career-high figure in receiving yards last season, with Houston’s two tight ends combining for just more than 1,000 yards during Brock Osweiler‘s one-year cameo.

Prior to his increased usage in 2016, Griffin never caught more than 20 passes in an NFL campaign, so Osweiler’s penchant for feeding the Texans’ tight ends looks to have benefited one player, even if the team involved him in one of the weirdest trades in NFL history.

The Texans now have their core of 2016 pass-catchers retained for at least one more season but obviously have a question as to who will be distributing the passes in 2017.